Father-of-one Darren, a kitchen fitter who does Thai boxing, said: "I gave the door around 20 kicks and eventually broke the lock. I just don't know how she survived. The smoke was extremely toxic.

"I don't feel like a hero. I just did what anyone else would have done. I'm still in shock.

"I'd like to thank Elite Thai Boxing in Bolton for training me. The firemen couldn't believe that I kicked down the door."

Mark, who works for a dry cleaning firm, said: "I heard shouting and saw that there were people at the bedroom window. I went to get my ladder and steadied it while the man and his daughter climbed down.

"We could hear the girl's mother in the hallway. I held open the handle on the door as Darren started kicking. He would have broken my arm if he'd missed.

"When the door opened, the smoke was billowing out. It was pitch black. It just lifted for a moment and we saw the woman on the stairs so we dragged her out.

"When something like that happens, you don't think. You just do what you have to do. I'm just glad we got them out."

Firefighters from Farnworth and Atherton put out the blaze at 1.10am on Friday. The family were given oxygen and taken to hospital.

The fire is thought to have started when the woman, 49, fell asleep while smoking.

Firefighters have hailed the rescuers as heroes.

Crew manager Michael O'Neill from Farnworth Fire Station said: "If it wasn't for the actions of the neighbours, this incident could have turned out much worse."